"Cosmopolitan" may not always be an apt word to describe a Dallas restaurant, but it fits Parigi.  Through more than 20 years with different owners and different chefs, Parigi's uniqueness has miraculously survived, from the unusual placement of the tucked-away yet open kitchen to its elbow-to-elbow seating. It feels intimate, not claustrophobic, thanks to a tall ceiling and a narrow mirror running the length of the banquette.

Parigi's servers add to the urbane air: They are poised, connected and relaxed. Ours handled a special request knowledgeably and with care and managed friendly, even playful, repartee. And when he offered to split a salad, it required essentially plating a complex dish twice.
The ambition of Parigi's seasonal, French-leaning menu matches the restaurant's ambience. Its far-reaching variety includes locally produced cheeses and interesting, not tried, items such as portobello fries with truffle buttermilk cream and posole with a petit sincronizada (a tortilla sandwich).

Golden and candy cane beet salad with celeriac, sun-dried cherries, red onions, Stilton, pine nut brittle and blood orange-champagne vinaigrette was like a work of art, its beets sliced wafer-thin and the celeriac spun out into long, spaghetti-like threads.....Three-cheese-and-truffle fondue included an elegant blend of sottocenere, fontina and gruyère....Grilled fish of the evening was wild New Zealand salmon over zucchini strands with garlic-infused olive oil, oven-dried tomatoes, basil and pine nuts....A heart-healthy selection created by chef-owner Janice Provost proved more satisfying. Quinoa, peas, carrots, parsnips, spinach and asiago cheese were tucked into half a roasted acorn squash. The melted cheese stretched mercilessly down our lips and chins.

New World entries dominated the thoughtfully chosen wine list, but it was two Old Worlders by the glass, aromatic Pio Cesare Cortese di Gavi and robust Guigal Côtes du Rhône, that made good matches for us.

The half-and-half dessert offers an easy way out of decision-making. It's half "chocolate glob" (dark, intense lava-cake-like stuff) and half excellent peach cobbler under whipped cream.
Here's to another 20 years.

Though Andree Falls, the original owner-chef and author of The Parigi Cookbook is long gone, her vision
of a contemporary oasis of Mediterranean charm lives on into its third decade---probably due to the fact that every owner after her was either a former employee or client. Parigi is Italian for Paris and it perfectly intones the style of this Mediterranean mainstay with its mix of seasonal French and Italian dishes with a little California thrown in. Two dishes have remained on the menu since opening, the whole roasted garlic and the infamous chocolate glob, both are still must-haves when you visit. The menu changes weekly with an emphasis on salads, pastas, meats and fish made with fresh herbs and seasonal vegetables. The open kitchen, a well-trained staff and a large group of regular customers who all seem to know each other gives Parigi the feel of a private club where anyone is welcome.

Parigi has been on the radar ever since former chef Abraham Salum left to open his own restaurant on Cole Avenue. What’s become of the nearly 22-year-old Oak Lawn bistro?

Doing fine, thanks, under the laid-back rule of Janice Provost, who’s owned the casual-chic Mediterranean boutique for four years. Half-chef, half-hostess, she makes an effort to greet every table, and most of her clientele seem like friends. Her shoebox of a kitchen, open to the dining room, engenders a drop-in informality, like someone’s home—a quality Salum clearly worked to duplicate at his place.

The food had a homey thing going on, too, but imagine a super-savvy home cook who’s up on all the trends. Starters included a crunchy salad with glorious chunks of hearts of palm and a totally au courant appetizer of portobello fries, cleverly served in a Belgian-style cone. The mushrooms were cut into thick rectangles, dusted with crumbs, and fried until crisp, yet stayed moist and meaty inside—a very nice textural experience.

Entrées showed versatility, from a sizzling pork chop with maple sweet potatoes to a surprisingly satisfying vegetarian dish: acorn squash stuffed with a mixture of parsnips, peas, carrots, spinach, and quinoa and topped with Asiago cheese. Side vegetables such as broccoli and carrots were impeccably cooked.

The menu changes weekly, though the notorious chocolate glob dessert never goes away. Dark and gooey, like uncooked batter, it’s a Parigi trademark. But the tall, tender lemon cake was much better. There’s much more to Parigi than the glob. 3311 Oak Lawn Ave. 214-521-0295. $$-$$$.  —T.G.  June 2006

It may look like (and be named as) a “Parisian-style bistro”, but this “small”, “cosmopolitan” Oak Lawn old-timer actually features a “frequently changing menu” of “fabulous” New American–Med dishes that “still draws in the crowds”, “many of them regulars”, after nearly a quarter-century; then again, it could be the “lovely” digs, with rotating exhibitions from local artists, or the “personalized service” that keeps it so “trendy.”

Best Royal Salad Caesar Salad at Parigi There are at least 6,000 restaurants in Dallas and more than 6,000 recipes for Caesar salad. This city is so Caesar crazy, the local branch of the American Institute of Food & Wine holds a standing-room-only Caesar salad competition each fall. After years of roaming the range for the best tossed romaine, only one still pings off of our palate as perfect. It’s served at Parigi, where the crisp cool lettuce is tossed with the proper amounts Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, egg yolk, and black pepper. The secret ingredient? Chef Janice Provost keeps it locked in her head. 3311 Oak Lawn Ave., Ste. 102, 214-521-0295.

February 2001

"Lunch here is extraordinary. A puckery, pistachio-crusted chèvre cheesecake crowned a beautiful roasted fall vegetable salad sprinkled with warm balsamic vinaigrette. Mellow vodka-tomato sauce dressed a huge split chicken breast enfolding a shallot-and-artichoke stuffing. If that weren't enough, it was sided by fabulously rich roasted 'smashed' potatoes. The oven-hot fresh peach cobbler is the best we've ever had."

February 1999

You want stunning? Here's stunning--a salad of frisée lettuce, roasted fig, and bacon with a crunchy Stilton cheese biscuit alongside. Also highly recommended are the cheese risotto cakes (with ratatouille) and the lovely marinated venison médaillons with an amazing carrot-scallion pancake. For a civilized dessert, try the poached pear in chocolate. The menu changes weekly.

Parigi began as part of the Alice Waters aftermath, the passionate chef-inspired restaurants that came in the first frenzy of New American food. Parigi, like other New American disciples, featured daily menus relying on fresh ingredients, preferably purchased that same day. The restaurant has been sold a few times since its inception and has become more of a neighborhood restaurant than a destination...menus still change weekly, and the food is prepared to order, by hand....the food — specials and perennials — was excellent. The famous beef tenderloin with mustard sauce and "smashed" potatoes was as good as ever, the beef rare and unusually flavored, the potatoes buttery and just lumpy. This dish has been on the menu since Parigi opened. And that's a long time.

— Mary Brown Malouf and Nancy Nichols

EastGuide